


Water lilies

by AnemoneHeart



Series: Nymphaeaceae [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-27
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-15 11:43:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3445880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnemoneHeart/pseuds/AnemoneHeart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kamishiro Ryoko is dragged into friendship kicking and screaming while a former friend plans misguided revenge. Unbeknownst to them these are the smallest of their problems.</p>
<p>[Everyone-is-a-girl AU ahead]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dueling 101

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CutiePanther](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CutiePanther/gifts).



> Once upon a time (which is to say around three days ago) I told Kerry (Nyandere) that I thought Knight Durbe and King Nasch's past relationship was similar to the typical romantic friendship you see in yuri manga and somehow that ignited this monster of an au. I want it to be known that she is the one enabling me and so I blame her completely.  
> No regrets tho.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the ride?

When it came to it today's scene wasn't any different to the usual sights that filled Heartland academy once the last bell has rung and the students hurry in a quest for freedom until the next day arrives and they are forced back into a world of homework and lectures. An ocean of students spreads into mere droplets, smaller groups gathering around their own interests. Some of them had club activities, some of them had schoolwork to catch up on from last Friday still, some of them simply wished to go home as fast as their legs could carry them.

There was always somebody willing to brave the impossible after school, too.

"Two level four monsters? why is that special?"

As much as novices are not a rare sight between the crowd gathered around them there is something about that level of ignorance about the mechanics of duel monsters that truly exasperated her. Exceed isn't a hard concept to grasp and given how popular it is around Heartland's gamer population it's hard to believe that so many people would fail to understand that she may have some tricks upon her sleeve when facing a creature with three thousand attack points with two fishes with half that number. Their minds would implode if she ran tuners.

"She is going to overlay them! You know, like, adding them upon each other to make one big monster!"  
"Oooh!"

... But now she is curious about how would this loud girl explain tuners all of sudden.  
 _Don't get distracted, idiot_ ; Kamishiro Ryoko reprimands herself silently in her thoughts with a voice quite unlike her own, _Rio would never let you live it down if you lost here_ but she won't and she knows such well enough to wonder why she even accepts these challenges some days.  
Oh, right, because Rio wouldn't let her live it down if she quitted playing completely either and Ryoko would question further why she doesn't resist her little sister more if she wasn't busy winning this duel.

"I overlay my two level four--"

"Wait, does that mean the cute toy sharks will go away?"  
"Yeah, that's how it works, Kotori."  
"Isn't that sad?"

"--Wind-up Shark and build the Overlay network with these two materials!"

"Yuma... will you say things like that too? it looks very embarrassing."

Ryoko's eyebrow twitches mid chant.

"It's not embarrassing at all! This is why you aren't a duelist, there is no way you can get in the game with that attitude. You have to _feel the flow_!"  
"But aren't we high schoolers already?"

"Howl, unknown roar! Rise from the darkness of the abyss! Xyz summon, Bahamut Shark!"

Further comments by that duet were soon drowned by the crowd's animated roar. In front of the audience's eyes the magic of technology provided the vivid image of her monster, a gigantic beast of which the untrained eye would have definitely considered a dragon. It's a _sea serpent_.

"Woow! Isn't Bahamut incredible?"  
"Doesn't it have less attack?"  
"Shark will make it work! I mean, she would have summoned another dragon if she didn't have a plan."

Normally Kamishiro Ryoko made a point to not go after novices (it's generally a reprehensible habit that she used to admonish a friend of sorts on just months ago) but it is known that even the diamond and steel can be cracked under the appropriate pressure. 'Shark's' patience has always been closer to copper to begin with.  
When a short girl wearing the same uniform she does runs to her side barely moments after her fallen enemy has finished picking up his deck and hopefully leaving her sight until the end of time and asks to duel her in a voice she easily recognizes as that loud girl's Shark makes a very special exception to her rule.

Why would she run dragons in a fish deck in the first place?

-

Shark's first duel with Tsukumo Yuma lasts no more than five turns and only because the goddess of fortune is fickle enough to bestow a duelist this inexperienced with an impressive starting hand. While starting a xyz summon on the first turn is quite standard between players of National duel circuit level (players like Ryoko herself) she can read the other girl's gaze as if it were an open book with the words 'It's my first time managing this!' written in full caps and misspelled.  
Ryoko had three xyz monsters by turn three and not an inch of mercy.

This girl seems to have a friend, Ryoko notices, as he hurries to her side immediately when the last of her life points are taken away and the impact of the duel's holographic technology is as gentle with Yuma as her opponent. His look of disapproval was met with a simple shrug of her shoulders, her friend shouldn't be trying to bite than she can eat on her (first? second? third? like hell she has more experience than that) initial steps on this game.

One of the first dubiously annoying traits of Tsukumo Yuma that she was forced to acknowledge was how resilient the short girl could be: she was up in seconds and in no less than a minute Shark's ears were once again filled with incessant chatter. Luckily for Ryoko she had a life of experience pretending to listen to her sister to rely on for these situations.

"--How did you do that?! that trap card looked situational but you made it work _every time!_ "

"Right."

"Plus you kept summoning monsters from your extra deck!"

Why would she run an exceed deck otherwise?

"And you just summoned Gagaga cowboy over and over."

That seemed to embarrass Yuma enough to make her speech slow down into self conscious laughter while one of her hands traveled to the back of her head in a boyish motion.

"Well, I only have him and Baby tiragon there, so!"

"You _what_?"

An emotion quite close to indignation fills Shark's reply and suddenly all of her sparse attention found itself focused on the shorter girl. The pressure of being stared at by a duelist talented enough to be called a pro (this girl has to know who Ryoko is, why would she challenge her otherwise?) doesn't seem to register as Yuma doesn't even dare to look guilty about her words.

"I haven't been very lucky with packs, you know? I'm always ready to get a numbers, like, _kattobingu_!" Yuma raises her one of her hands up high for emphasis but made up words don't calm the beast in front of her in the very least; "But I keep pulling stuff like Djinns or weird ranks--"

"You run Gagagas."

"Yeah. Oh, you like them too, Shark?"

"No, idiot! Gagagas are an xyz archetype! You can't run them with two cards in your extra deck, are you insane?!"

"It's my deck and I can run it as I like!"

"Pft, have fun biting the floor every time."

"As if you could do something better!" Tsukumo crossed her arms in front of herself in a hopefully defiant or alternatively _cool_ manner as if such would make her seem taller and winning this argument. According to the students pointing and whispering between themselves as two high school girls argue heatedly about trading cards neither of them are winning anything with this.

Logically Shark should understand that this is a pointless discussion and that true victory lays in turning around and leaving on her bike to let this annoying, mostly unknown, possible classmate behind to fume alone while she rides into the distance but the thing about Ryoko's copper temper is that she has never been good at turning down a challenge she feels that she could fulfill once riled up.  
Ryoko reached for her schoolbag and produced from inside it a spare deck case full of trading cards.

"Try me."

-

The problem with giving Tsukumo Yuma a hand and some spare cards she would never use in her own deck is that her irritated kindness was interpreted as friendly by the other girl somehow. No amount of exasperated looks nor questioning of both her intelligence and skill with Duel monsters seemed to affect the shorter girl because Shark gave her a gift and helped her out which means now they are _friends_. It was incredibly unnerving.

Enough time has passed since the last time Kamishiro Ryoko had a friend that the word alone puts her on guard but leaving Yuma behind without a word is useless and engaging her only ends with the other girl's Gagaga cards on her lap as she teaches the theory behind many combos Shark has never used herself. She has always been good at picking up how decks are supposed to work on the fly, it's a skill she used to be quite proud of.  
Nowadays Ryoko wishes that she could give this girl advice useless enough for her to vanish and let her return to the daily life of a fifteen year old lone wolf.

"... And that's what Kotori said. He is exaggerating, right?"

"Mh..."

Her noncommittal noise ends up sounding closer to an affirmation for Yuma's ears, a radiant smile full of life and victory reaching her features, so Shark doesn't bother correcting her on that misunderstanding. The true meaning of that sound had been "I have no idea what your friend said because the feed of my ears to my brain was severed five seconds after you began talking" and honestly it's not like she would ever direct so many words to this menace anyway.  
A menace that is getting too friendly with her boxed lunch.

"So! He told me I couldn't jump three trash cans at once so I--"

"No." And with that (hopefully) threatening reply she pulled her food away from her lap in an effort to keep it safe from a certain greedy fiend. Sharp blue eyes land on the girl's chopsticks which now stand on the air, pointlessly lingering over the place where _her_ fried octopus used to be. "Go leech off your friend's lunches."

"Eeeeh? But you are my friend too, Shark! Just a bite!"

"I'm not your friend!"

"Come on, Shark~!"

No matter how it looks there is nothing friendly at all in this situation even when she inevitably gives in and sacrifices part of her food for what's left of her sanity merely a week after this pilot fish attached herself to her nor there is any special meaning when Yuma begs her to wait for her after school ("Sorry, sorry! The teacher wants me to get something and we can duel, don't leave.") and Ryoko actually finds herself waiting patiently until she is done instead of hurrying home.

This is passive aggressive resistance, she decides, since direct words aren't working. Yuma will eventually learn to build a working deck or find somebody else who actually wants to put up with her and that'll be all, surely.

(Shark ended up bringing an extra portion of fried octopus with her to school from the next day onwards.)

-

A full month goes by in the blink of an eye and with it also leaves the faint hope that the cheerful schoolmate called Tsukumo Yuma would simply grow bored of her company. If anything the notion that they are _friends_ now seems to have grown deeply rooted into the girl's mind, slowly turning into _best friends_. The sheer amount of objections Kamishiro Ryoko had about that concept was too vast to voice with words but even if she did chances are that it would be a waste of time.

Tsukumo Yuma is as stubborn as a mule.

The worrying part of such is that it's slowly becoming endearing in it's way.

"Open way, Kattobingu coming through!"

Let's take for example this scene, a typical scenario seen in daily anime: a short high school girl with big eyes and a short uniform (why is their school's uniform skirt so short anyway?) racing against the clock with mere minutes left before the bell rings. Given the distance between where they are and Heartland academy most students would have already given up in this quest and accepted their fate of being late to school, maybe even stop on the way to window shop or buy some snacks, but that's not an option for her. Yuma has to run until her legs give up and attempt to cross the street with the red light, almost getting ran over by Shark's bike in the process; It's not even surprising for her at this point.

At least not for Shark.

"Wah! Sorry, sorry, I'm in a hurry-- Shark, you have a bike?"

She wants to roll her eyes and to smile at the same time so she simply points at her vehicle with her left thumb, hoping to take away the girl's attention from her. The last thing Yuma needs to know is that she finds her idiocy cute sometimes.

"Bought it myself."

Yuma's eyes couldn't be wider.

"No way, are you a millionaire?!"

"As if, I just saved up my allowance a few years and got part time jobs."

"That's still too little for a bike!"

Well, maybe her family is pretty rich, not like it matters. She is attending a public high school after all.

"Weren't you in a hurry?"

"Ah, you are right!"

But she is not running now, is she? her steps take her closer to Ryoko's little Shark drake so she extends one hand to keep Yuma away from her precious bike. Unlike most people giving her a deadly glare is not enough for her to get the message, you need to be clear with Yuma.

"No way."

"But _Sha~rk_! We'll be late!"

"You will be late."

"Come on, I see you have a spare helmet!"

It takes eight minutes of insistence and one stern warning ("If you get even one scratch on it, I swear...") for Ryoko to finally give up and let her get on Shark drake which made it necessary to push the accelerator if they wanted to make it to school on time, to Yuma's delight.

Trying to convince Yuma that it was an once in a lifetime event and she would definitely not give her a ride back home since their houses were in the same direction was a pointless battle but she fought it to the very end all the same.

(It took her fifteen minutes to give in.)

-

"Eh? Shark?!"

By now Kamishiro Ryoko worries if she is being stalked because the third floor of Heartland Hospital's recovery ward has to be the least likely place in this city to meet Tsukumo Yuma on a Sunday. The shorter girl is, in Shark's not so honest opinion, an irritating ball of energy and _kattobingu_ , not the kind of person who would secretly visit a dear family member on her free time (Shark would know about that kind of people being one of them herself) nor feeble enough to end up bedridden anytime soon.  
 _Rio used to be like that too, didn't she?,_ full of an overbearing presence that radiated confidence and health that her body wouldn't be able to back up, keen as a blizzard yet just as fragile behind her barriers of ice.

"Why are you here, Shark-?"

"Are you okay?"

The intensity in Ryoko's voice surprises even herself, blue eyes forced away from a startled red. As much as she'd like to pretend there was no worry in those three words it's clear that the three of them heard her well enough.

"Ryoko? Anyone I should known out there?"

"Just somebody from school."

Yuma recovers quickly from the surprise and hurries closer with her interest focused in the owner of that voice. Shark made a point to reach for the doorknob of room 103 to keep it closed.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Who did you come to see, Shark?"

An interested laugh can be heard from inside the room matched with approaching steps (she shouldn't be getting up just yet but it's typical of her little sister to only pay attention to the rules she likes) and it seems that this mystery patient hasn't lost her touch at all since Shark feels cold sweat running down her back. There is "worst case scenario" written over all this situation.

"' _Shark_ '?"

"Shark is Shark!", Yuma is more than happy to explain before pulling from Ryoko's sleeve insistently, somehow expecting this to make her hold on the doorknob any weaker.

"Pfft! You complain about Nasch but let people call you _Shark_?"

"Nasch? What does that mean?"

A very mature older sister finds herself opening the door in one swift movement, unwilling to her very core to let this topic continue, a chance that Yuma takes to peek at the inside of the room illuminated by this gentle midday sun slipping through those wide glass windows. Close to the door stood a young girl close their age wearing a light green hospital gown and a playful smile, her long blue hair and the shape of her nose both telegraphing her relationship with Kamishiro Ryoko.

Yuma stares for some moments before looking in her friend's direction with an obvious question on her lips.

"A fire."

"Ah."

Looks like an hospitalized little sister is enough to make even this obnoxiously cheerful girl's mood calm down which is good in Ryoko's book even if a bit awkward all the same (How could it not be? as if she would tell Yuma the details of her family life). Kamishiro Rio however is not the kind of girl to let an awkward mood ruin her afternoon.  
She made her way closer to the duet of schoolgirls in front of her, that single crimson eye not wrapped in white bandages open in her scrutiny of the shorter girl and full of a mischievous charm that these hospital walls have been unable to erase.

"Hm~ you must be Ryoko's new school friend?"

Even when subjected to the piercing gaze of the youngest Kamishiro twin that word ('friend') is enough to awaken the shorter girl from that short daze and make her puff up her chest with pride. That's her alright, Shark's closest school friend!

"Yep! I'm Tsukumo Yuma, we are always together after school." Rio searches for confirmation in her sibling's eyes so she looks away to deny her that pleasure. That alone does as an affirmation. "Are you Shark's sister?"

"'Yes, I'm _Shark_ 's... pft!" Rio has to bring a hand to her mouth to muffle an amused laugh.

"Shut up!"

"What, did they call you something else in middle school?"

Shark hurries to reply before Rio can recover from her laughter enough to answer.

"Why are you at the hospital, Yuma?"

"Eh? Ah!" The change of topic startles the young girl for some moments before raises her hand to point towards the end of the hall. "Grandma was feeling under the weather so she dragged me here with her. One of her old friends is a doctor here or something, I wasn't really listening."

"Oh, is she doing well?"

"Yeah, the examination is already over and all but they are chatting about the old times now so I just left."

With amazing timing, clearly, but that's just Ryoko's luck. Maybe the world will make it up to her by not letting Rio and Yuma get along.

"Not in a hurry then?" Rio inquires with a delighted done of voice and steps just a bit to the left, opening a path for Yuma to come into her room. "How about you come in? I'd love to hear what my stubborn older sister does while I'm here."

Ryoko rolls her eyes. "As if I don't tell you everything."

"Of course you don't."

"Okay, Shark sis!" And so the shortest girl between the three raises her hand happily as if called to answer a question she actually knows the answer of for once during class, beaming with her usual energy. Instead of being offended by that strange nickname the reminder of Ryoko's silly one ("'Shark, haha...!'") made her laugh once again instead.

So, of course, by the end of the day her 'new school friend' and her little sister were in friendly terms but that's just Ryoko's luck.

-

Just because Kamishiro Ryoko, aka Shark, was no longer so much of a lone wolf anymore that didn't mean challenges slowed down at all. She was still widely acknowledged as a strong duelist of national tournament level who refused to fill her afternoons with club activities, giving contenders a simple time frame to aim for if they wished to try their luck. The key difference nowadays is whether Ryoko herself will take up a challenge or if her new (not) school friend would react first and attempt to show how much she has improved to Shark with mixed results.

While having a full extra deck is a key when running Gagaga just because you have the chance to summon a monster does not mean it's the right course of action and even if it is choosing wisely between the monsters you can summon is necessary for victory. Luck and deck building aside Shark knows by now what the shorter girl lacks the most besides a haircut, experience.

"XYZ summon! Come, number seventeen: Leviathan dragon!"

... Maybe some common sense too.

"Yuma!"

As much as she always questions why does she even bother to keep an eye on the other girl's duels at first by the time the third turn begins Shark finds all her attention focused on it and her tongue merciless with her misplays. Yuma winces when hearing her voice, knowing by now what that particular tone means.

"I have a plan! I'll detach two overlay units to bring Leviathan's attack to three thousands and that Constellar _Ptelosomething_ won't know what hit it."

"You can only detach one of Leviathan's overlay units per turn!"

"Eh?", Yuma hurriedly looked at her hand with the faint hope that her deck would offer a plan b for the situation she got herself into. A proud smile told Shark that she found something. "Well, that's fine! I have Aqua jet. Bam, one thousand extra attack points!"

Shark frowns with disbelief (Why exactly does Yuma have Aqua jet with a spellcaster mess of a deck?) before taking a quick look at their opponent's. The way that he plays with the leftmost card in his hand is telling enough for Shark to sigh.

"He has Honest in his hand, Yuma. Set down a trap card and save your resources."

"Uh? No way he has Honest, that's not a Constellar."

"No but it's damn good Light support. Trust me, he has Honest."

"I'm the one playing here!"

And so Yuma finds her life points hitting zero after ramming into Honest.  
While her sharp senses are enough to impress both Yuma and Yuma's childhood friend (a friend by proxy of Ryoko by now but given that she still denies being Yuma's friend he should not expect acknowledgement anytime soon) the rest of their audience had less positive reactions about her being able to tell an opponent's hand.  
It comes with being disqualified from the National duel circuit due to cheating, doesn't it? it's been long enough that Ryoko is able to shrug off their comments easily, the faint thought of how her sister would react to this coming to her mind.

Rio is not here to lose her mind but Tsukumo Yuma is.

"Don't say things like that about Shark!"

As a general rule Yuma is not the kind of person that can be seen as threatening or imposing. She is small, has silly hair, wide eyes and an annoying habit of putting her foot in her mouth on an everyday basis, very few people could find such a person to be intimidating at all yet the silence that followed her words indicated something different.

No, it was a different feeling, something hard to relate with fear. It's the sheer faith in her words that leaves them speechless.

"She knows a lot about Duel monsters and has been playing since forever. If you don't think she is actually good then try dueling her yourselves!"

"--Hey!"

"I'll fight you all too!" Yuma stands straight full of a confidence she can barely back up without Shark's help just yet and Ryoko can't hide an amused smile this time because this ruthless positiveness is exactly how Tsukumo Yuma is, stubborn, foolish and _hopeful._ Ryoko forgets to be angry about Yuma accepting duels in her stead and just laughs, a fond sound that sounds exactly like Rio's.

"Idiot, you are just going to lose again."

"Don't say something like that to somebody protecting your honor!"

"Yes, yes."

The way in which she shows her frustration is very different from her sister's childish pouting but is endearing all the same.

"Fine then, let's play together. We haven't tag dueled yet!"

Tag duels are a very bittersweet topic for her ever since the National duel circuit's finals, ever since middle school ended and with all the friendships she had treasured, ever since everything fell down in a two night catastrophe, but Shark feels that she can put those matters aside just for today.

"Yeah."

Just for today.

-

It's not like she is interested in what Kamishiro Ryoko, aka Nasch, was doing with her life nowadays. Why should she care? to begin with it's her fault that everything had gone so poorly the last time they saw each other and that's not even getting into all the times the annoying fish lover had pissed her off during all these years. Maybe she should have actually counted them to make a point.

In any case, she doesn't care what Nasch may be doing at Heartland academy at all, but rumors run quickly through her network of connections and the description of a strong duelist, female, running a shark themed Duel monsters deck made it quite clear who they were talking about even without a name.

_She was always complaining about_ Nasch _and now goes by_ Shark _? that fishface..._

So maybe she didn't actually have a plan for this.  
Her idea was simply to drop by, see what Nasch is doing even if she definitely doesn't care at all, maybe laugh at her a bit and then go on her merry way to plot her ruthless revenge on her for another day. It should be a fun and painless experience for her.

Seeing Nasch not only getting along with others but actually tag dueling with a new friend though? ah, Ryoko, that hurts. You were supposed to rot alone! This just won't do.

_Tsukumo Yuma, eh?_

She stays around for longer than needed in an effort to memorize the name of that short girl by Nasch's side. _Tsukumo Yuma, first year, class 4-A._

So she is just a dumb freshman stubborn enough to get Nasch back into tag dueling after that fiasco? how lovely. Less than five minutes of knowing about her existence is enough for Shingetsu Rei to hate her already.

Oh well, she should get going. Transferring at this time of the year may need some extra paperwork.


	2. Lunatic

The city of dreams, Heartland, is filled with the invariable uproar expected of a busy town on a week day. There is no mystery in why some call it 'The city of the future' instead as technology runs deep in the city's scenery, many holographic screens and diligent robots roaming the streets freely, however comparing Heartland with a small town wouldn't be such a crazy action.   
Busy weekdays, lots of traffic and discouraged students blending between the few who seem to look forward to the school's resuming classes are all sights one can behold anywhere around the country and Heartland is no exception to the rule even if it's streets contain more wires.

Other cities however don't have Tsukumo Yuma.

"Late, late, _late_!"

Many students consider the second portion of the first semester as a fresh start, a special chance to begin anew after the lovely breather known as summer holidays, and given that there are months in between this chance and the next one to reinvent themselves even the most humble students tend to put extra effort on the first week. Yuma however finds herself completely unaffected by all of this to the point of over sleeping on this miraculous day of good behavior.

Nobody with aspirations of suddenly becoming an honor student would have stayed up on the last day of holidays for an ESPer Robin marathon anyway.

' _Why is the school so far away?!'_

There are probably many better topics to think about on a desperate dash towards the school, important life questions waiting to be asked in line with 'Why didn't Nee-chan wake me up anyway?' or 'Shark better be late too, she promised to watch the marathon too.' which while not a question is still very important for the younger girl given that she has been trying to get Ryoko 'I don't watch television, that's for plebians' Kamishiro to give a try to hero shows all summer but Tsukumo Yuma is a simple girl and the concept that she was _late_ on the first day took over most of her conscious mind. Just one more turn and she can sprint forward with all her strength!

"Kattobing-- uah?!"

"H-hya!"

The problem with dashing around a corner without thinking is that the possibility of running into somebody is quite real.   
Yuma avoided the hard asphalt by clinging to a nearby light post after losing her stability, a successful albeit desperate manouvre, but the unlucky girl (her voice seems feminine enough for Yuma to be confident about that guess) she crashed with seemed to have less luck. That's completely her fault, isn't it?

"Sorry, sorry." The shorter girl began once she had confidence on her stability,"My bad. Need a hand?"

Yet the other girl shook her head insistently at such words and merely threw a shy look to Yuma's uniform before speaking properly, a petite smile on her features. While it could have been an effect of this vantage point there seemed to be something strangely welcoming in this unknown girl wearing the same uniform as she is.   
"Do you also attend Heartland Academy?", she asked in a voice soft with inquiries.

"Uh? Yeah, don't you do too?"

"I'm actually a new student, miss...?"

'Miss'? A term like that simply doesn't fit her. Tsukumo shakes her head eagerly making a mess out of her ponytail in the process.

"Tsukumo Yuma, no 'miss'!"

"Oh, I see. Yuma-kun, then?"

Simple and boyish, just the kind of thing Yuma can get used to. She agreed with few words before urging this mysterious transfer student onwards.

"Embarrassing as it is to admit I'm actually... lost." She fidgets a bit and pulls her knees closer, allowing them to touch (If only she closed her legs properly or fixed her skirt Yuma wouldn't have a good view of her underwear from her point of view)."I was hoping to find another student in the area to request help but it seems everyone else is already at school."  
 _Strawberries_ , Yuma thought.

"Ah, that sucks.", Yuma said, her words met by a soft nodding.

"Could we go together? Ah, unless you are planning to skip classes, Yuma-kun?" Some disapproval was mixed in her words.

"Who would skip on the first day of the semester? Of course I'm going to school!"

"So, together?"

Well, why not?

"Sure, if you tell me your name."

The girl with strawberry print underwear seemed embarrassed by having forgotten to introduce herself properly and thus her cheeks turn a cute shade of pink (just like said underwear) as she hurries a proper introduction out. Shingetsu Rei, first year, 4-A.

"4-A? That's my class!"

"Really? What a coincidence, could it be fate at work?"

"Geez, don't be dramatic, it's emba---"

The school's bell echo in the distance quickly forced their merry conversation to a stop. Panic surged through Yuma's body.

"Shit. Let's hurry, strawberries!"

"--?! _Strawberries_?!"

There was no time to explain right now so Yuma grasped Shingetsu's hand and pulled her up in one quick movement before beginning to drag her along on her as her steps speed up. They'll need to run if they want to make it before the teacher on duty's mercy runs out.

Turns out that it being the first day of the first semester's second portion does not make teachers any more likely to ignore arriving ten minutes after the bell rung.

-

A transfer student around this time of the year is not exactly strange.  
There is nothing inherently peculiar on deciding to switch schools after holidays end, one could even call such the most reasonable time if doing so at the beginning of the school year is somehow impossible, and adult life is full of strange complications by itself. 'My father had to move due to work' was a very well known explanation to the point that by now it felt cliche, as if out of a bad anime.  
Still, even if it were strange, the ruckus surrounding Shingetsu Rei's transfer was simply too much.

Yuma could easily wrap her mind about a (mysterious) cute girl getting a lot of attention after transferring however there was something off about how fervent such focus was, in how it quickly spread through different classes until making it to her desk became an actual challenge.

' _Kotori, why did you have to get sick today out of all days?_ ' was Yuma's inner lament when the teacher decided that Shingetsu Rei should sit by her side. 'You two are already friends' her ass! the very moment lunch break's bell rang she was carelessly pushed out of her seat to make room for an insistent heap of admirers looking to share their time with her. The sight of a teacher between them was particularly worrying.  
There was something very off about this and if Tsukumo Yuma, airhead extraordinaire, picked it up on mere hours then it must be glaring obvious.

Now, generally when strange circumstances or any particular problem that can't be solved via kattobingu arise her first choice tends to be to ask for Kotori's opinion; He is not her childhood friend for nothing and for some reason his rational answers tend to work very well to solve conflict, but that is simply not an option today since not only he is absent but her D-gazer was left inside her bag which she clearly has no access to at the moment. This all left her with only one other relatively wise friend to consult on the matter.

Swift on her feet Tsukumo Yuma found herself standing by second year's 1-C's classroom soon enough.

"Shark!"

Kamishiro Ryoko threw her a long wary look from her seat but promptly stood up at her call with her lunchbox on hand. Now that Yuma thanks about it her own lunchbox is being held captive by the transfer student's army which makes the idea of consulting a friend who always brings extra food specially wise.

"Rooftop?"

The shorter girl shook her head due to three circumstances: lunch break is short, Ryoko's classroom is mostly empty since the weather is so nice today and they have a lot to talk about. (Her deck is also being kept captive inside her schoolbag so she can't even show her friend the new cards she got last night, this is clearly not her day)

Once she had taken the seat next to Shark (empty apparently, does nobody sit by her side during class?) and helped herself to some fried eggs Yuma finally was able to make proper conversation.

"So, Shark..."

"No, I didn't watch your stupid show. We had school today."

While that answers one of Yuma's questions it's not an reply she feels happy about. Her chopsticks were firmly pointed in Ryoko's direction.

"I'm getting you the DVD for your birthday."

Shark simply shrugged.

"You don't know when it is."

... _Touche_ , she'll definitely need to ask Rio about it. It's a good for her that the youngest Kamishiro twin enjoys playing with her older sister so much.

"Anyway I wasn't going to ask about that!" Not right now at least. The blue haired girl's look is doubtful at best. "There is a new transfer student in my class."

"What's so special about that? kids transfer here all the time."

"Yes, that's the thing! Everyone else is being weird about it. They act like she was some kind of celebrity."

"She could be an idol, they are around our age."

"I would know her if she was one. One of us actually watches television."  
Ryoko didn't bother to dignify that accusation against her lifestyle with an answer and simply continued eating her lunch with a shrug. The precious silence between them lasted close to a minute before Yuma continued onwards with the conversation anyway.

"Anyway, I would know her if she was that famous! At least her name but I've never heard about Shingetsu Rei before in my life."

The way blood drained from her friend's face once she heard that name only left Yuma feeling even more certain that there is something off but the lack of openings in the way that Kamishiro Ryoko drove her away the moment lunch break ended left her without any answers by the end.

-

If indignated looks could kill this unlucky buffon wearing a tuxedo would already be rotting in the deeps of hell by now.

"What exactly do you mean there was a ' _sudden change of plans'_? We agreed about this weeks ago."

Sharp righteous may be unable to murder either but they make the man in front of her flinch all the same. Quite a pitiful sight, she thinks, as this old man must have been even taller than her on his prime but time has not been kind to him nor his employer seems to be.   
Common courtesy would have been to send his _secretary_ to tell her this instead of an easily scared old man, or even to simply call her to say the interview was cancelled instead of wasting her time.

Well, truth to be told she would have came anyway if they just changed their minds without a word.

"Y.yes, Tsukumo-san, but something came up suddenly and--"

"Shingetsu called him, didn't he?"

Tsukumo Akari considers herself pretty good at reading people. A sharp gaze is a requirement for journalism to begin with and while she wouldn't call herself a veteran just yet calling her a novice would not be proper either, given some time and enough questions figuring out small nervous ticks comes even naturally to her. No skills would be necessary to understand what this man's clear flinching means though.

"I can't speak about something like--"

"So he did."

The old man dares to look defeated at such words as if she actually needed to hear his answer to know. Akari sighs.

Logically, she understands that trying to force her way inside the building would be a pointless effort: No matter how scary she could be there is simply no comparison with the police chief, not even if she uses the look that always gets her little sister to stop lazing around in seconds, but the temptation to try anyway is strong.

' _He won't answer anything even if you get to him, Akari_.' but it's another loose thread that gets cut right in front of her eyes and calling it frustrating would be an understatement. Next time will be it.

The redheaded reporter allows herself to be childish in not saying goodbye to this man before leaving, a petty and pointless revenge that doesn't make her feel better at all. Next time, next time, next time! how many next times has it been?

Knowing the answer to that question would just fuel her ire more.

-

Kamishiro Ryoko left behind a lot of people when she began attending high school.

Trying to re frame her actions to make them seem sweeter, even heroic, would signify characterless lying to herself, a lie that Rio wouldn't let her believe for even five seconds. As much as she loves Rio in all her meddling glory that not even being bedridden has been able to defeat maybe there is a part of herself that resents not being able to embrace the illusion of noble sacrifice.

The thought itself beckons Rio's voice inside her mind in a harsh reprimand, the words she used when her stubborn older sister told her what she planned to do. ' _Are you an idiot, Ryoko_?' and yes, she probably is, since she couldn't find any other answer but leaving.

For her past to chase after her is more surprising than it should be.

"Shingetsu Rei, eh."

One of her classmates got to take a picture with the transfer student which she showed to everyone in their classroom, Ryoko included, in a pointless bragging attempt. Had she truly had any doubts about Yuma's story this would have forced her disbelief away. Longer hair, a bit taller yet still far away from her height and a different uniform, none of those could make Kamishiro Ryoko mistake her former tag partner for anyone else.

No, for her it would be _Nasch_ still, right?

Her cell phone rings as if on cue, startling the water duelist out of her rumpled thoughts. There are only three people that could message her at this time of the day and one of them would only trouble her mind further.  
The screen read 'Durbe' on clear, cold, letters.

Nasch turned the machine off.

-

"Akari... you are threading dangerous ground, you know? you should give up on investigating Shingetsu. Nobody gets to dig very far without ending in Heartland tower's litter central."

A sigh escapes the man on the other side of the screen. His warnings have grown weary after being done over so often to the point that Akari can tell what he'll say next before he even opens his mouth again. ' _But as long as you keep it to your free time I can't stop you. Just keep in mind that nobody investigates the police commissioner for a reason._ '

It's because nobody else is willing to investigate commissioner Shingetsu that she can't just give up on this, scoop or not.

The freelancer journalist simply nods along when the exact same speech she expected is recited word by word, twirling the mechanic pen on her left hand between her fingers. Even when surrounded by the splendor of technology in full development a pen proves to be a reporter's best friend in times of duress.   
Once the customary warnings were over she quickly wrote down the topic her boss actually wants her to research on and cut off communication with few words and the simple pressure of her fingertip over the screen. Akari leaned back on her chair as far as such could go without collapsing.

"There have to be some leads somewhere, nobody is that good."

You don't need to be that good if threatening anyone involved into being silent works so well. Damn him.

The sound of an incoming mail made the red haired girl lean forward again, her disinterested gaze being greeted by an unknown name on the screen. A sender by this handle could only belong to two categories: spam or a turning point in one of her investigations. Why would somebody pick such an obvious fake name like _Tron_ otherwise?

Holding her breath Tsukumo Akari opened the message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) A full chapter without any dueling! who would have thought?  
> 2) You can tell I like moe stuff from the random strawberry focus. The runner up pattern option was small ghosts by the way.  
> 3)Ideally the update frequency of this fic should be one chapter per week. We'll see how that pans out though, hopefully it'll be a smooth ride.


	3. Anemone

During the long and prestigious history of Heartland Academy it's rooftop had been the scenario of numerous significant events which greatly altered the alumni's school experience. It was in that exact place that the renowned Flower arrangement club (victorious in twenty five national tournaments and counting) was first created, where the Soccer club's ace finally confessed to his childhood friend (two years of dating and counting) and an incredibly popular spot for duelists who want to spend their breaks playing duel monsters (total amount of defeats of Tsukumo Yuma in this place currently approaching three digits). Being such a well known spot between the students to find it deserted is a very rare occurrence.

One of the benefits of carrying the last name Shingetsu is that no more is needed to get your way most of the time, high schools being no exception.

The orange haired girl wasn't bothered by the inevitable silence that filled the normally lively spot when alone with her old friend nor did she mind an early wintry autumn breeze blowing through the city on the second day of this semester.

"You are so cold." She began in a dramatic tone of voice, one of her hands landing on the center of her chest for emphasis. "I was looking forward to walking home together again, _Nasch_."

"... Right."

Well, if Ryoko actually bought her act so easily she would be disappointed. Before she could continue playing the wounded damsel role the older girl continues speaking, harsh blue eyes on her. It's a gaze she knows very well.

"What are you planning, Rei?"

"Aww, not _Vector_ anymore?"

"Don't play with me. Why are you here?"

Yes, that kind of enraged look is one Shingetsu Rei is very familiar with, sharp words and clear mistrust. That stray hand on her chest quickly descends to her hips as she simply shrugs, letting her mask fall away completely.  
They have known each other from even before there was a mask for her to wear after all.

"Because you are here, duh. Why didn't you come to a _private_ highschool anyway? we are all lonely, Naschie." Shark rolls her eyes at her words so she goes on, "And don't say 'we got expelled, Vector-sama!' because you know damn well there is more than two schools in this city."

"Because it's over. I've talked to the others already, we are--"

"Like hell it's over."

Shingetsu Rei took a step forward, purple eyes fixated on the taller girl in front of her. Their short time away from each other has done her no good when it comes to intimidation as Ryoko still towers over her as if the difference in their age wasn't just one year but that alone is not enough for her to hesitate. For neither of them to.

"It's not your call. I've talked to them already about this and it's over, this whole ' _barian seventh_ ' thing."

"And I say that I don't give a fuck what you talked with those wimps." Her hand is raised once again with Ryoko's own bosom as goal, index finger digging into the upper part of her chest almost painfully. Stubborn as always, Ryoko refused to relent. "We are not over until the score is settled."

Ryoko frowned.

"It was settled when we got expelled."

Those words award her with a deep, pitying, laugh from her old friend.

"That was a warm-up."

-

Unlike what action movies may led the younger crowd to believe journalism is not actually a very glamorous profession. World ending conspirations and classified files conveniently left unguarded are pretty rare to find which makes everyday work quite mundane: articles on inaugurations, small events and gossip tend to fill one's paycheck more often than not.

With that in mind there is nothing strange in Tsukumo Akari's particular enthusiasm today, the thrill of a hunter mid pursuit running through her as she looks through the lens of her trustworthy camera.

A suspiciously common address at a suspiciously common time was the information given a completely uncommon source, the kind of mysterious informant that truly belongs in fiction. To say that Akari isn't wary of the possibility of this being a set-up from the 'prey' itself would be a lie but she also knows that any information about commissioner Shingetsu is rare enough to be worth the risk.  
And so here she is, keeping an eye on a one of Dr. Faker's penthouses on the middle of the day due to Tron's words. This is probably not the highest point of her career.

 _But nobody else has the guts to investigate what Shingetsu does so it's me or nothing_. Egocentrical as it may sound she knows her thoughts to be painfully accurate and it's because of such that they reached this point where the mere threat of the man is enough to silence most people. It's easier to let it be, they think.

(Maybe she would think the same if she had nobody to look after? the thought of how bad corruption could get reminds her of her little sister and how much she hates the mere thought that she would have to grow seeing that.)

Her target is sighted six minutes after the time Tron specificied clad not in his usual business suit but in a more casual outfit, long black hair free instead of tied into the usual ponytail.

"You have to be kidding me."

What kind of set up would leave the target unguarded? Even the kind of company he had, people that the owner of this apartment would hate being seen around it, one single photograph being enough for an scandal. She recognizes those faces from Yakuza reports on Tokyo's news.

_You truly onto something, Akari..._

A nervous shiver ran through her body as her index finger hovered on the shutter, the many warnings of her boss resounding on her head. It could still be a trap, she reminds herself, or Tron may be somebody even more dangerous than them.

You can't get anywhere without some risks after all...!

Journalism may not be an adventurous job but she is a Tsukumo after all, she has the soul of an adventurer all the same.

-

"Is Shark busy again, Yuma-kun?"

"Yeah..."

 _Just like she has been all week,_ thought Tsukumo Yuma in her frustration.  
It's not like there is anything inherently unusual in Shark being an unnecessarily difficult lone wolf however such lapses tended to last just a few days before she would grumpily accept Yuma's company and relent. For her to actually reject her company without listening to the younger girl's insistent complaints and eventually giving in after some token promises of it being the last time not only once but many days in a row is strange, too strange.  
By this point Yuma is actually getting worried.

"Looks like I won't get to introduce her to you today either, Rei."

"Ah, that's really not necessary."

"Don't be shy, you two would get along really well! I mean, you are both strong duelists and all."

Shingetsu Rei simply laughed, a musical sound clear as a bell, to her new friend's dislike. In Yuma's opinion some anticipation from her side towards meeting one of her friends would be welcomed just like a pause from her ladylike manners would be. Sometimes it feels as if she were talking to a manga character.

"That's not really what I meant."

"Anyway!" Finding no point in staying behind waiting for somebody that won't show up today either Yuma stands up from her seat with one movement and reaches for her deck. "Let's duel today!"

"Yuma-kun truly moves at her own pace~"

"Mh? Do you think so?"

Even critique can be easily dismissed when spoken in such a gentle voice.

"Shall we go then?"

"Guess so. Don't worry, she can't hide from us forever!"

Once again Shingetsu Rei simply laughed.

-

Her friend's sighs are becoming more and more common everyday and she should feel blessed that Mizael had so much patience when it comes to her, honestly. It's still quite irritating though.

"Nasch is still not answering your calls?"

"... Yes."

_Just like she didn't yesterday and the day before, nor the day before that, etcetera._

The blonde girl took her seat by her friend's side with resignation, the painful knowledge that she may be accepting another long lunch break full of reminiscence about Nasch present on her mind. Durbe truly should be grateful of how vast her patience is when it comes to her, if she were Alit or Vector her tired acceptance would have been a clear sign to escape. _They shouldn't act like they are taking this any better than Durbe is._

Well, nobody is taking it worse than Durbe, that's clear enough.

Mizael took a moment to calmly open her lunch box before speaking further, this is a very familiar situation after all. Eventually she declared the same recommendation she always gives her friend. "She still lives in the same house, go see her in person."

Durbe frowns at her suggestion just like she does every time.

"Nasch told us not---"

"To drop by, yes. She also said to not call her and you aren't listening to that."

That guilty look behind her glasses is just foul play, it never fails to make Mizael feel as if she wronged her somehow by being the rational influence she is. Even without blaming Vector and Nasch (not that she doesn't blame them for being so problematic to begin with) to end in a dilemma like this is just like Durbe: too stubborn and loyal to let Ryoko go but too conscious of her childhood friend's wishes to simply push her way back into her life.  
This situation could go on endlessly if it depended on her, Mizael knows, and is grateful of their friend's low passiveness all over again.

"Vector said she would work on it."

"I wish her luck, but..."

The blonde girl nods, fully understanding her doubts. Maybe it'll be enough motivation for her to act on her own. And so Durbe sighs once again.

"It would be nice to have Merag's advice too."

"How are her burns?"

"They aren't so dire but her health has never been good, the doctors won't let her go for at least two weeks more."

Two weeks of melancholy until Kamishiro Rio's own lack of patience pushes Durbe forward then, she can probably endure that.

"... Remember the first day of middle school, Mizael? both Nasch and Alit forgot their textbooks."

... _Maybe_.

-

Commissioner Shingetsu, the infamous head of Heartland city's police force, possesses fair features unbefitting of the nefarious reputation that he possesses.

"... Not that I should be thinking about that."

Akari's finger presses on the holographic screen lazily and pushes one of today's photographies to the left and away from her sight. A vague warning from her mother about handsome men resounds inside her mind pointlessly, she is definitely not that insane.

Commissioner Shingetsu, head of this city's police force, have always carried a questionable reputation on his shoulders as far as she knows and slowly but throughly climbed up in the ladder until he managed to stand on the top. His underhanded methods are impossible to doubt, not given the lovely nickname he obtained from the amount of bribes he takes.  
It's sad, really: Don thousands sounds pretty humorous without context.

The sound of a new message pulls her out of her thoughts and the name of the sender got all of her attention. She expected to be contacted again eventually, yes, but for it to be mere hours after she contacted him doesn't cease to be both surprising and telling of how much interest he has on this matter.  
Holding back her excitement ( _come on, remember that this could be a trap still..._ ) she opens the message with her index finger and holds back her breath.

On the screen a duel simulation with the instruction 'win on this turn' appeared, promptly keeping the message's content away from her. A peculiar type of password it seems.

"... You _have_ to be kidding me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word of advice: never promise a regular update schedule or life itself will immediately remind you that you have no time.
> 
> More on topic this chapter is mostly build up specially for Akari's side of the plot (yes, we have a plot! please don't expect anything too impressive though) but I hope it's enjoyable.
> 
> On the chapter's title: "Anemone indicates fading hope and a feeling of having been forsaken. On a positive note it symbolizes anticipation".


End file.
